Conn. Lawmakers Consider Changing Pot Laws

Needless to say, I welcome this development with open arms. The criminalization of marijuana in small amounts is stupid. Hell, the criminalization of possessing large amounts of marijuana is stupid.

The goals are two-fold, Looney said in testimony before the Judiciary Committee this morning: to remove the lingering stigma of a criminal conviction from the offense of possessing a small amount of the drug, and to prevent law enforcement resources from being spent prosecuting non-violent drug offenders.

Hopefully with a guy like Senate Majority Leader Martin Looney supporting this, this legislation will have legs.

2 responses to “Conn. Lawmakers Consider Changing Pot Laws”

This is great news, and you’re right, marijuana being illegal is dumb. Many of the reasons its a schedule one drug are illegitimate or just plain wrong. The federal government sees marijuana as being addictive and as having no medical use. These assertions are simply incorrect. Also, one of the original reasons marijuana was outlawed and legally grouped with hard drugs like heroine and cocaine was because of its association with Mexicans.

Basically marijuana laws are a fossil from a dark age when bad science and racism often formed the basis for policy. Hopefully Connecticut will join the few other states that are letting common sense rule.

There was a great episode of National Geographic Explorer entitled “Marijuana Nation” that delved into the issue of marijuana in the U.S. If you haven’t seen it check it out.